Serving Quality

1. Serving Quality Protecting the future of our Post Office

2. The Post Office today • Integral part of community life in the UK with around 14,500 offices • 481 Crown Offices (publicly owned & run) • 14,000 Sub post offices and franchises (urban & rural) • 28 million adults visit a Post Office every week • 97% of the population visit a Post Office every year • 94 % Population live within a mile of a Post Office

3. PostOfficetoday • Serving diverse communities • Benefits and pensions payments • Banking, savings and financial services • Bill payments • Mail services • Government services (passports etc) • Many offices incorporate additional services to maintain small business income and serve communities • Many offices are based in deprived or remote areas where other businesses no longer operate

4. Social role – financial inclusion • More branches than all the high street banks put together • Branches in many areas where banks closed years ago • 40% of banks allow transactions through the network • Over 4.3 million people use the Post Office Card Account to collect pensions and benefits at the Post Office • 2.8 million Post Office Card Account users don’t have a bank account • Unique public ‘trust’ (Treasury and Trade & Industry Committees both highlighted this important factor)

5. Social role - local economy • Vital part of local economy – Case study – Manchester (New Economic Foundation study 2006) • Provide cheap and accessible banking to small businesses (i.e. cash depositing) • Every £10 earned by Post Office there was £16.20 generated for local economy • Local Impact Model (LIM) estimate loss of a single office closure on the local economy is £270,000 • 60% of small business said the impact of closure was significant on their takings

6. Social role - Urban dimension • Post Offices generally mentioned in connection with rural community but they play key social role in urban communities • Sustaining community cohesion – Case study; Manchester (New Economics Foundation) • 60% of Community surveyed said that closure would have a substantial impact • Loss of urban community meeting place • Loss of main non governmental agency assisting the vulnerable completing government forms

7. Social role - Urban dimension • Urban Post Office customers • 33% From deprived communities • 10% Carers • 14% Unemployed • 7% Long term sick or disabled • 20% of customers obtain services on behalf of family members

8. Social role - Urban Impact of closure • Disproportionate loss of urban Post Offices has large impact • Eight urban closures for every rural closure in past two years • 1 in 6 of urban closures in deprived areas • London - 31.45% reduction in branch numbers April 2001 to September 2006 • Urban offices sustain communities on a ‘tipping point’ from becoming ghost towns (NEF -Manchester)

9. Importance of Crown Offices • Provide trial sites for new products and services (successful free ATMs trial etc) • Offer full product range • Generate disproportionately large amount of income for Post Office Limited • Generate disproportionately high amount of revenue for business – 3% branches but over 20% of income

10. Importance of Crown Offices • More customer orientated • Postcomm & Postwatch MORI market research demonstrated this. • Provide secure, well paid, unionised employment often in deprived areas • Most serve large urban deprived communities

11. The crisis facing the network • Financial crisis • In 2006 Post Office Limited are making an operating loss of almost £4 million a week • Decline of network over last 25 years • 32% of Offices have closed since 1986 • A reduction of branches from 21,000 in 1984 to 14,500 today

12. Why the crisis? • Transfer of payment of pensions and benefits to Direct Debit – loss of £268m per annum in government revenue as a result. • Loss of a number of Government contracts • TV Licence contract to Pay Point • Tenders to conduct first time passport interviews (at 69 sites) to private operator, Mapeley.

13. Why the crisis? • Post Office does not receive the commercial rate for Government services • Trade & Industry Committee (ninth report) • David Mills, former CEO of Post Office Limited • Uncertain future makes forward planning difficult – one of the reasons why the TV licence contract awarded to Pay Point by BBC

14. Government announcement – Challenges for the future • The DTI made a number of proposals on 14th December now subject to consultation until 8th March • Positive aspects of DTI proposals include • Acceptance of the social role of the Post Office • Acceptance that the Post Office needs government support on this basis. • Introduction of access criteria to some urban deprived areas • 1.7 billion funding • Replacement of Post Office Card Account in 2010 • Social network payment continued for rural offices

15. Government announcement – Challenges for the future • Negative aspects of DTI proposals • Proposed closure of up to 2500 branches • Proposed closure of significant number of Crown Offices and franchising to private operators • Weak access criteria and definitions of deprived areas • No social network payment for urban deprived offices

16. Worst case scenario • 2500 closures & further franchises go ahead • Post Office card account replacement product must be put out to competitive tender (EU rules) – loss of contract by Post Office would be a catastrophe for Post Office an • Estimated loss to Post Office Limited of £400million per annum = further decline of network • Access to services diminished • Consultation and public accountability continues to be shunned • Access criteria are not improved

17. The CWU alternative - A prosperous and secure future • Social value of network must continue to be recognised and fully supported by government • Network has enormous potential – tackle financial exclusion • No network in the world has achieved stable and sustained profitability – recognised by DTI • No further reduction of an already diminished network

18. The CWU alternative - A prosperous and secure future • Sustainable and adequate state funding provided to the Post Office • Social network payment extended from rural to include additional funding for urban deprived network • Subsidy increased in view of social role • Commitment to universal banking realised through the Post Office • Developing a universal Post Office Bank Account (great success La Poste, in Germany and Japan) • Greater functionality than current POCA

19. The CWU alternative - A prosperous and secure future • Develop network as a portal for central and local Government services • ‘One stop shop’ for National and Government services with trained practitioners for administering these services • Postal voting • Congestion charge • Council tax payment • Parking permits • TV Licence

20. The CWU alternative - A prosperous and secure future • Financially support a successful Crown Office network and use these as flagship branches offering full range of services • Improved access criteria take account of all urban deprived areas not just ‘some’

21. The CWU alternative - A prosperous and secure future • Enhanced role for the public and local communities in the future of their Post Office • Ensure a duty to engage public in future strategy of the network • Strategic decisions subject to regional accountability – regional and national assemblies • Increase consultation process on closures to three months and place a duty on Post Office Limited to meaningfully community consider counter cases

22. CWU Serving Quality Campaign • CWU launching ‘Serving Quality’ campaign to influence consultation process' • Joint ‘all party’ campaign with other major stakeholders – Protect Our Post Office • National Federation of Sub Postmasters • National Pensioners Convention • RNIB • Age Concern • Countryside Alliance • Citizens Advice Bureau • Women’s Institute

23. Protect Our Post Office Campaign – Joint statement ‘The following organisations; Age Concern, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Post Offices, Citizens Advice, Countryside Alliance, Communication Workers Union,  National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, National Pensioners Convention, Royal National Institute for the Blind and the Women's Institute are committed to securing the future of a sustainable Post Office network with a full range of services, including an enhanced Post Office Card account and other national and local Government products and services, allowing vulnerable groups to continue to access vital services in their communities. These organisations will press the Government to deliver on its recognition of the social and economic importance of Post Offices in both urban and rural areas and represent the voices of those who work in and those who use the post office network’

24. CWU Serving Quality Campaign • Lobby of Parliament and rally – 20th February 1pm (Central Hall, Westminster) • Lobby of Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly meeting, London Assembly lobby • Political campaigning nationally and regionally

25. What you can do? • Help build and attend our lobbies • Influence your local MP/MSP/Assembly members/Councillors • Visit our campaign web site – www.cwu.org • Make delegations to Regional TUC and CLP’s via branches • Request a speaker to your union branch

26. Contacts for further information • National campaign information Nick Childs - 020 8971 7484 nchilds@cwu.org